Well, that's a blast from the past (wasn't HND the main intercontinental gateway in the 1960s?). I expect that AF will be able to charge a premium for this service. Would there be any technical difficulties (e.g., runways, aprons, etc.) that would slow this down?

Wonder how AF will fit into HND night slot, which is 10PM to 7AM. Well, I guess it will be like,

CDG 10am - HND 5am // HND 6:30am - CDG 11am

but HND departure is too early for an international flight, unless park one aircraft whole day at HND. If Japan side also should use night slot to be fair (I'm not sure this part), it will be much easier for them.

HND 11pm - CDG 4am // CDG 11am - HND 6am

Same issue for other nations' airliners who also permitted to use night slot only. Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea agreed on HND night slot, or more. SQ or MH will be able to use it wisely as

KUL or SIN 4pm - HND 10:30pm // HND 11:30pm - KUL or SIN 5am

but not for Korean airliners. Still there's no doubt that HND slot is super valuable even it is a night slot.

I'd think many airlines will park their aircraft most of the day at HND due to the restrictions on operating times. It's not like HND has ramp space problems because the ramps are usually occupied by domestic aircraft at night while they are empty during the day.

Quoting HeeseokKoo (Reply 5):Wonder how AF will fit into HND night slot, which is 10PM to 7AM. Well, I guess it will be like,

CDG 10am - HND 5am // HND 6:30am - CDG 11am

but HND departure is too early for an international flight, unless park one aircraft whole day at HND. If Japan side also should use night slot to be fair (I'm not sure this part), it will be much easier for them.

HND 11pm - CDG 4am // CDG 11am - HND 6am

Same issue for other nations' airliners who also permitted to use night slot only. Singapore, Malaysia, and Korea agreed on HND night slot, or more. SQ or MH will be able to use it wisely as

KUL or SIN 4pm - HND 10:30pm // HND 11:30pm - KUL or SIN 5am

but not for Korean airliners. Still there's no doubt that HND slot is super valuable even it is a night slot.

I was thinking about the scheduling and it appears to me that Japanese carriers have an advantage*, in that in order to get the optimum times, AF will probably want to have an aircraft on the ground all day at HND,so that it arrives at (say) 5-6am and leaves at 11pm at night. However, don't forget that AF is only the first European carrier and no doubt we will see more agreements of this sort and with time, HND will become so congested that these late hours that the authorities will be forced to extend and ultimately abolish the curfew.

As I see it, an arrival into HND at c.11pm would demand a departure from CDG at about 2am, so that's not going to be popular; an overnight from HND to CDG should be popular; AF currently operates a 77W from NRT to CDG, leaving at 22.00 or so; a departure from HND at midnight would result in an arrival time at about 6.30.

Here's one possible option: how about one of the A319LR aircraft, configured in an all-J Class layout.

(*This is because Japanese carriers can use their aircraft, even if configured for international flights, on domestic routes).

If true, that's great news. It's been rumored for quite some time that HND would be opened up to limited international service. I suspect the next carrier may be HA who would like to serve there and could do well as most traffic between HNL and Tokyo is O&D . The convenience of HND would be very appealing.

I thought the authority that runs HND had a restriction on international flights that went as far west as Hong Kong and east to some Japanese islands.

Would be interesting if other carriers try to get into HND. If the Japanese government would just open it up to the world, it would be a far more popular airport than NRT. NRT would end up be like LGW.

It may not now, but it has the A319LR - and two years to do it, if it chooses to. Given that HND will probably be a predominantly J class route (and no doubt international landing charges at HND will be quite high), it is feasible.

Quoting Centrair (Reply 14):I thought the authority that runs HND had a restriction on international flights that went as far west as Hong Kong and east to some Japanese islands.

I thought that was a Japanese govt (MoT) rule. Not anymore, it would appear. Japan would not have signed this agreement if the ruling were still in place.

I recall that the regional govt of Yokohama refused to provide funding for the expansion of HND if international operations were severely restricted; I wonder if this is still in place.

It would have to be. HND's longest runways are each 3,000m, so especially given typical summer conditions in Tokyo (70% humidity, 28-32C), that negates 744, 77W and A343 equipment without substantial penalties.

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